Baseball Coaching Volunteer Project in Argentina

Argentina Gap Year Baseball
By volunteering in Argentina on a baseball project you will soon make lifelong friends from your gap year or summer holiday baseball coaching opportunity. Coaching and playing baseball on a baseball gap year or student summer vacation in Argentina is a great way to experience the Argentine passion for baseball and a totally new culture.

Training Sessions
A truly once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to soak up everything baseball, embrace a fantastic South American culture whilst doing something worthwhile with a new generation of baseball players.

On a social level you will make awesome friends as you share your love of the game with other locals from Buenos Aires, also known as “Porteños”. Training is competitive and takes place twice a week in the evening, with matches taking place on either Saturdays or Sundays. Although you may be required to coach every day at the “Villa Carlos Gardel” you will also have the option of joining training sessions in a high standard baseball club.

Coaching Responsibilities
Baseball training starts in the month of February, with competitive games running from March to mid-December, with a break in the winter month of July.

You will also see that kids will appreciate to learn English while playing and making the most of your presence by asking you to mention some of the popular tactical game situations. You will add a new dimension to their baseball by coaching drills they have never been exposed to in the past. At the grassroots level you will coach individual skills such as throwing, catching and batting. The kids come from different playing backgrounds, but the standard is often very basic. At the end, you will experience the sense of friendship within the community and realize how quickly you will be part of the team!

Volunteer Placement
You do not need coaching qualifications to join our baseball coaching project, just a basic knowledge of the game and some experience in playing baseball, whether from your days at school, university or club.

A key part of the project is to help the kids with their English homework before the training session starts. You will come across kids asking you how to say words in English, particularly if they relate to baseball.

As a volunteer coach, you will work alongside other baseball coaches, running fun coaching sessions and competitive matches for kids aged 8-17. They will listen, learn and grow in the sport as you teach them the various skills of the game. It is also a good chance to help them with their English languages skills, and to also improve your Spanish.

The team is looking for volunteer baseball coaches who are passionate about the sport and who also enjoy working with kids. Around 40 kids of different ages and abilities train and compete each day, and also play in a local league. However, the figure is growing, and support is needed to help manage the increasing numbers of kids wanting to play each month.

The team called “Las Aguilas” or “Eagles” was set up by an American coach to help give kids a better future, by providing life skills through baseball. Your baseball placement will consist of coaching baseball to children from a deprived area in Buenos Aires. All members of the team live and play baseball every afternoon, just a few minutes’ walk from their homes.

Baseball in Argentina
You will provide structured coaching sessions and games for children and supply the much needed equipment – bats, balls, bases, gloves – to play the game. The problem in Argentina is that although there are thousands of children who would like to play the sport, there is not enough decent equipment, facilities or baseball coaches to meet the demand.

Baseball gets a lot of exposure throughout the country, with many Argentines now following Major League Baseball from the USA. Unsurprisingly, more and more kids try to replicate the game in the streets, often with a broom handle and make-shift bases. Baseball has become an increasingly popular sport in Argentina, largely thanks to the cable and satellite services streaming Major League Baseball into many bars and people’s homes.

CRB/DBS (Criminal Records Bureau) Check
It is advised that participants complete a CRB/ DBS (Criminal Records Bureau) check in order to take part in this project. Sporting Opportunities can provide this service for you at an additional cost of £30. For more information on the application process please take a look at the relevant Add On Tab.

Help children from disadvantaged backgrounds learn a fascinating sport
Build teamwork and a strong network of friends for these children
Learn Spanish as you help these children with their English

Spanish